For quite a while I also led ties from all my in-cockpit things to a fixed point in the cockpit itself, for the same reason as Melissa; I didn't want things to float away in the event of a capsize. But I must have done it wrong: the multiple little lines were a danger in themselves after a capsize. For the present I'm just resigned to the fact that I may lose a few things now and then. I wedge them into bungies I've epoxied to the inside of the cockpit (behind the seat, alongside my thighs), and for the most part it works well. I did lose a sponge a couple of weeks ago though. As for fixing the boat to roof rack or tree - I still go with a cable which is looped through the hip/thigh support blocks (which come up alongside the seat and are a fixed part of the boat) and then to the "immovable object", roof rack or tree. It's far from bombproof, but as John wrote, it will make theft just enough of a nuisance to deter the "impulse thief". And as for the knees - I'll bet there are a hundred replies to that one by now - a pad of 1/4" closed cell foam, about 3"X6" in size, fixed to the underside of the deck with two coats of contact cement will solve that problem nicely. For those who don't want to make their own, the "PADZ" sold by Nantahala Outdoor Center work well. (Of course carved foam knee braces etc etc can easily be made as well - but it didn't sound like the questioner was so much concerned about that.) Bill Hansen Ithaca NY *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Sep 05 2000 - 05:17:24 PDT
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